Facing supply chain woes such as component shortages, satellite manufacturers and launch companies are building direct relationships with suppliers and using acquisitions to mitigate those disruptions, Analysys Mason analyst David Oni wrote Thursday. Oni said satellite-makers and launch companies need to diversify their supplier bases so they don't rely on a single source and aren't as vulnerable to geopolitical risks and chip shortages. He said launchers should collaborate with satellite manufacturers to develop modular satellite architectures with standardized interfaces, making in-orbit repairs and upgrades using readily available components easier.
DOJ should investigate Apple for “illegal monopolization” of global electronic supply chains, consumer groups wrote the department Tuesday. The American Economic Liberties Project, the Demand Progress Education Fund, the Tech Oversight Project and X-Lab signed. Enforcers should probe Apple’s reported deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to “exclusively buy TSMC’s entire output of the most advanced silicon chips,” they wrote. Apple is the largest electronic component buyer in the world and has used its dominant position to “demand exclusive deals with suppliers, squeeze prices below the level of profitability, and lock up the capacity of suppliers in order to prevent competitors from using them,” they wrote. Apple’s conduct as an electronics component buyer is separate but related to its “monopolization” of the final market for smartphones, about which DOJ has already filed an antitrust lawsuit, the groups wrote. The company’s practices have “undermined competition in markets for silicon chips and other electronics components as well as allowed Apple to extend those advantages to the final markets for smartphones,” they wrote. DOJ didn’t comment.
The Commerce Department granted Samsung up to $6.4 billion in federal funding to increase chip manufacturing in central Texas, the department announced Monday. The two sides signed a “non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms” for direct funding under the Chips and Science Act (see 2208090062). Samsung expects to invest more than $40 billion and create more than 20,000 jobs in the region related to semiconductor production. The investment will “cement central Texas’s role as a state-of-the-art semiconductor ecosystem,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. Samsung will manufacture “important components to our most advanced technologies, from artificial intelligence to high-performance computing and 5G communications,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. Samsung plans to build a “comprehensive advanced manufacturing ecosystem, ranging from leading-edge logic to advanced packaging to R&D” in Taylor, Texas, near Austin. The company plans to expand facilities in Austin to “support the production of leading fully depleted silicon-on-insulator process technologies for critical U.S. industries, including aerospace, defense, and automotive.” Strengthening local semiconductor production will position the U.S. as “a global semiconductor manufacturing destination,” said Kye Hyun Kyung, CEO of Samsung’s Device Solutions Division.
House Commerce Committee members on Thursday vowed to find a bipartisan solution for updating Communications Decency Act Section 230.
House Republicans on Wednesday tanked a procedural vote that would have allowed debate on legislation reauthorizing intelligence agencies’ surveillance authority (see 2404090055). Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in voting down a rule that would have allowed the lower chamber to consider reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the statute. The House voted 193-228 against the measure. That followed a Wednesday post from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who urged members to “KILL FISA,” claiming it was used to interfere with his campaign. Republicans voting against the rule included Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Chip Roy (Texas). House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Wednesday that Trump is “not wrong, of course. They abused FISA.” He noted, however, that reforms in the proposal would create criminal and civil penalties for documented abuse. The Trump administration relied on Section 702 to “kill terrorists,” Johnson said. Section 702 is set to expire April 19.
The value of the global space economy could more than triple by 2035, from $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion 11 years from now, according to a World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Co. report Monday. It said five industries -- supply chain and transportation; food and beverage; state-sponsored defense; retail, consumer goods and lifestyle; and digital communications -- will generate more than 60% of that increase. In addition, it said space's prevalence in daily life will grow due to decreasing launch costs, increased technological capabilities of satellites and broad investment in the space realm. Like growth expected in the semiconductor and global payments industries, the world being more connected, mobile and informed is powering space's growth, it said.
The EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council will likely continue if former President Donald Trump is reelected, European Commission officials said during a Wednesday briefing. The sixth TTC meeting will occur Thursday and Friday in Leuven, Belgium. It's the last of this political cycle, given U.S. and European elections later in the year. The EC doesn't expect too much disruption of TTC's work, which includes deliverables on 6G, platforms, standardization, AI and quantum computing, officials said. In response to our question about how the TTC can future-proof itself in the face of a possible second Trump presidency, one official cautioned against making too many projections on election results now. The EC believes a "critical mass" of activities has occurred in TTC working groups, demonstrating the importance of these issues for both sides. Regardless of the political situation, the official added, in the technology market, if a country wants to be serious about AI, semiconductor chips and other matters, it would be "foolish" to think it can do it alone. In fact, the official said, the TTC concept is attributed to Trump, who called for talks on trade and technology. Asked whether there's anything the TTC could do if this week's sessions are its final meetings, a second official said the council has shown a good deal of scope for cooperation, something that's politically attractive to both sides and is underpinned by the massive trans-Atlantic trade relationship. A third official noted the EC is building a structured process to prepare for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. As such, meetings will take stock of previous agreements and discuss pre-election activities, officials said. The TTC has already achieved a great deal, such as helping coordinate trans-Atlantic responses to Russia's attack on Ukraine and creating a relationship for cooperation in the green marketplace, they said. Members will discuss a sustainable and resilient trans-Atlantic marketplace, which will result in a joint declaration on electronic invoicing and an agreement to continue working on digital tools to simplify the relationship; economic security issues such as investment screening and outbound investment; secure and resilient supply chains; and trade and labor issues. The council is also focused on critical materials; it will launch a security forum on minerals after the meeting. In addition, a joint statement will review what the TTC has achieved and discuss its next steps. "As long-time allies and close trading partners, the EU and the U.S. have the chance to set the tone for the next mandate of each partner, making it the 'mandate of cooperation,'" the Computer and Communications Industry Association said separately. However, it added, the time for the council to serve as a meaningful venue to address ongoing burdens U.S. suppliers face in the EU market "is running out."
FCC commissioners will vote on restoring net neutrality rules during the agency's April 25 meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced Wednesday (see 2403290057). Commissioners will consider a declaratory ruling, order, report and order, and order on reconsideration. "A return to the FCC’s overwhelmingly popular and court-approved standard of net neutrality will allow the agency to serve once again as a strong consumer advocate of an open internet," Rosenworcel said. Also on April's agenda is a draft NPRM about georouting 988 calls (see 2404030051).
Foreign Policy Research Institute elects Aaron Stein, former chief content officer at War on the Rocks and Metamorphic Media, as its next president, his term beginning April 15 ... Metronet taps Craig Cowden, ex-Charter Communications and Bright House Networks, as executive vice president-chief technology and product officer, and Brad Freathy, ex-Verizon Business Group and Charter, as senior vice president-commercial and carrier sales ... WarnerBros. Discovery reduces board size to 11 following resignations of Steven Miron and Steven Newhouse as members … GCT Semiconductor, supplier of 5G and 4G semiconductor solutions, adds Synaptics Chair Nelson Chan to its board ... Twilio adds Andy Stafman, a partner at Sachem Head Capital Management, to its board, expanding it to 10 members.
Numerous challenges -- from development of hybrid antennas that work for both satellite and mobile networks, to getting chipset manufacturers on board churning out dual-network chips -- need to be met before satellite/cellular convergence arrives, satellite operator executives said Wednesday during a Global Satellite Operator's Association webinar. Sateliot CEO Jaume Sanpera said terminals that allow seamless connectivity, not just between satellite and terrestrial networks but among mulit-orbit satellite constellations, also are key. Intelsat Chief Technology Officer Bruno Fromont said satellite operators must ultimately become mobile operators, allowing roaming with terrestrial networks. While Mediatek is working on a Ku-band chip to enable higher-speed satellite broadband, the resulting terminals will have to be mass-produced to see the big drops in terminal costs that also are needed, Fromont said. Multiple speakers said direct-to-device (D2D) business models must be assessed.